The Red Shoes

The saga of the red shoes began in the days leading up to my trip to Florida. On the support group that I frequent, there was an entire discussion dedicated to this trip. As the temperatures plummeted in most regions of the country. the fervor and desire to be on the sunny beaches in the south reached a peak. One day, somebody posted a message on the board that said they wanted to be in Florida 'right now'. Somebody else suggested that they click their heels together, somebody else suggested some red shoes, and the whole unfortunate discussion got pinned on a gentleman named Jimmy who hails from Boston. The rest, as they say, is history. The shoes were packed, and the fun began on the second night of our visit.

First, it is necessary to introduce Sheila. Sheila is the owner of the red shoes. She found them online, and wears them with a costume. Sheila, who is a statuesque 6 feet tall, carried off the shoes with finesse.

See what I mean? On Sheila, the shoes are pure 'hot'.

Now, the razzing for Jimmy began. At first, our chances of actually getting him into the shoes seemed slim. Early in the evening, it appeared as though this would be the closest we got to getting Jimmy into those spectacular red platforms.

Soon, though, Don took the bait. Not afraid to show that he's a real manly man, he put them on right there in the tiki bar.

He even said that they weren't as uncomfortable as they looked.

After a few minutes, it even appeared as though he was enjoying the red shoes!

Yup, there is definitely a girly-man lurking in there somewhere. Nice gams, Don!

Once Don proved that real men wear platforms, it became much easier to egg Jimmy into trying them on. For this event, we moved outside the bar.

Sometimes it takes a little help from your friends to force 4 inch platforms that are two sizes too small onto your feet.

Jimmy showed us all up--he rocked the shoes too!

Once Jimmy and Don succumbed to the power of the shoes, it was only a matter of time until we infiltrated the ranks of the rest of the men. Here, Ed takes his shot.

Yeah, he'd definitely had a few by then. Goofy-drunk smile notwithstanding, he managed to carry off those tiny shoes with aplomb.

Totally sober, even I rocked the red shoes. They made me feel instantly sexy, even in sweatpants.

Therese needed a little help from her friends too.

I can't remember what she'd been drinking, but she rocked those shoes too. Friends stood at the ready to catch her if she stumbled.

The red shoes were the theme for our weekend in paradise. Who would have thought that a bunch of crazy widdas could also be cross-dressing crazy widdas? I miss Florida, in all it's red-shoe-wearing glamour.